DIANE MOLINE

April 22, 2012

Digital sweet treats

I've been having great fun with some of my many iPad and iPod Touch camera and photo apps. You could lose days playing around with this stuff. These are photos I took of what became annual anticipated seasonal events taking place in our staff room Joanne, a teacher re-christened as "Martha" among the staff, puts on quite a show of exotic candies, cookies, decorations, party ware, and favors. Joanne collects toys, favors, decor and is always looking for more to display on the special day. Really, the sweet treats look too good to eat (but we always seem to manage.) She gets them from several sources, including Divine Delights.com and Swiss Colony.com. ( I checked them out and when I looked at what they cost I even further appreciated what Joanne does for us!)

These are some photos treats from last spring's events that I played around with. I used different combinations of Halftone, Color Splash, Photo Treats, Perfect Photo, Camera Bag, and Lenses apps.

While we were gone...

These happened.

Sketching a little...

in Whistler, B.C.,

while we waited for lunch. This is what I had:

Good stuff.

Whistler a happy tune

Spending a few days in Whistler, Canada, a first-time destination. Left the girls at home with their loving sitters set to drop by. They didn't want to appear too anxious for us to leave, but secretly I know, like it was when I was 13 and got a few hours in charge, they could hardly wait for us to finish packing and get outta town.

I love Canada. I love Vancouver especially, but we've never ventured north of it, not being skiers. We've taken advantage of a groupony stay at a resort in Whistler, and, it was a luscious drive. As a bonus, the route takes us through the (shopping) heart of Vancouver and makes me yearn for time to linger. I shall drive up again just for the day, soon. I also saw more restaurants in a square couple of miles than I may have ever seen anywhere, including NYC. Yikes.

We stopped for lunch in the cutest dang cafe

where we had this view

but I digress. All of the views are magnificent up here. One better than the last. I took a slew of photos, but actually none of them do justice to the real thing. Take my word for it.

The art of urban sketching...

"Because we took the time to create it, instead of snapping a photo in an instant, the sketch has the power to bring back much sharper memories."

In today's Seattle Times, find this article about local artist Gabi Campanario, Mr. Urban Sketcher himself, the Urban Sketchers worldwide community, and his book, The Art of Urban Sketching. As soon as I heard that these many of the fabulous sketches I've been admiring and following for so long are compiled into one big book, well, of course, I had to have one. If you love sketching or just like to admire what others do, I recommend finding a copy. It's a very large collection of real talent. As an added bonus, these artists freely give lots of tips, techniques, and advice, as well as share the materials they used to create the piece. And, of course, it's a Wannabe World Traveler's visual vicarious paradise

I do love sketching city life, but find it very challenging to do on the spot, and I rely on photos (except for sketching people at coffee shops!) I would like to get better at the real thing. It's on my list. It is oh so true that the memories are more vivid when one has drawn or painted. As I look back at drawings I've made on my travels, or even in a leisurely afternoon around my city, I recall so easily the experience and the moment. One of the reasons I love to pick up my journals and browse often.